scholarly journals Evaluating the maximum shear modulus (G0) for different bender-soil coupling loads

2020 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 03007
Author(s):  
Caio de Mattos Azevedo de Paula ◽  
Thiago de Souza Carnavale
Keyword(s):  
Shear Modulus ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Unsaturated Soils ◽  
Granite Gneiss ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Volumetric Water Content ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Bender Elements ◽  
Cylindrical Samples

The current paper aims to test the effects of vertical loads on the maximum shear modulus (G0). The tests were undertaken with unsaturated soils in unconfined conditions. As a material, was used a set of granite-gneiss soil samples collected in the Quinta do Paraiso Campus, at the Centro Universitário Serra dos Órgãos (UNIFESO), Teresópolis – Brazil. To perform it, cylindrical samples were submitted to bender elements under four vertical loads (200 g, 400 g, 500 g, and 600 g). Further, the readings were done with the same amplitude and frequency values. The results revealed a decrease in the shear wave’s velocity reducing the volumetric water content. Besides, the shear modulus increased with the vertical loads’ addition.

scholarly journals Soil–Water Retention Curves Derived as a Function of Soil Dry Density

GeoHazards ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulong Chen
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Unsaturated Soils ◽  
Water Retention ◽  
Matric Suction ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Volumetric Water Content ◽  
Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Dry Density ◽  
Soil Water Retention

The soil–water retention curves (SWRC) of soil plays a key role in unsaturated soil mechanics, which is a relatively new field of study having wide applications particularly in geotechnical and geo-environmental engineering. SWRCs were used to evaluate the ability of unsaturated soils to attract water with various water contents and matric suctions. Drying and wetting SWRCs for a sandy soil with different dry densities were studied in a laboratory. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance, image processing technology, and mercury intrusion porosimetry were used to characterize the microscopic mechanisms of pore size distribution in the soil. Soil–water retention in the soil samples was strongly dependent on the dry density. With zero matric suction, soil samples with a higher dry density had a lower initial volumetric water content. Volumetric water content changed at a slower rate when values of matric suction increased in soils with a higher dry density. Soil samples had residual matric suction and a larger air-entry value with a smaller slope of the SWRC when they had a higher density. Dry density change is mainly responsible for the large pores. The number of large pores decreased as dry density increased. As the dry density increased, the area of macropores occupying the largest portion decreased, while the area of mesopores and micropores increased. Minipores accounted for the smallest proportion of total area and they were nearly constant. The proportion of large diameter pores decreased relative to pores with small diameters in the tested soils. The total pore volume was lower for soil specimens that had larger dry densities, as compared to relatively loose specimens. There was hysteresis between the drying and wetting curves for all soil samples. Hysteresis decreased as the dry density of the soil increased. The different liquid–solid contact angle was the main factor causing hysteresis of SWRC.

An Exact Solution to the Local Fractional Richards' Equation for Unsaturated Soils and Porous Fabrics

2013 ◽  
Vol 843 ◽  
pp. 97-101
Author(s):  
Zheng Biao Li ◽  
Yin Shan Yun ◽  
Hong Ying Luo
Keyword(s):  
Exact Solution ◽  
Porous Media ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Unsaturated Soils ◽  
Fractal Dimensions ◽  
Volumetric Water Content ◽  
Richards Equation ◽  
Fractional Complex Transform ◽  
Porous Soil

A local fractional Richards equation is derived by considering the soil as fractal porous media, and an exact solution is obtained by a generalized Boltzmann transform and the fractional complex transform. The new theory predicts that the volumetric water content depends on the ratio (distance)2a /(time), where a is the value of fractal dimensions of the porous soil, and its value is recommended for various soils.

scholarly journals Measurement of Volumetric Water Content by Gravimetric and Time Domain Reflectometry Methods at Field Experiment with Biochar and N Fertilizer

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Toková ◽  
Dušan Igaz ◽  
Elena Aydin
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Soil Property ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Volumetric Water Content ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Indirect Methods

Abstract There are many methods used for soil water content measurement which we can divide into direct gravimetric methods from using soil samples or indirect methods that are based on the measurement of another soil property which is dependent on soil moisture. The paper presents the findings of volumetric water content measurements with gravimetric and time domain reflectometry (TDR) methods. We focused on four variants in the field experiment in Dolná Malanta (Slovakia): control variant (B0+N0), variant with biochar at dose 20 t.ha−1 without N fertilizer (B20+N0), variant with biochar 20 t.ha−1 and N fertilizer 160 kg.ha−1 (B20+N160) and variant with biochar 20 t.ha−1 and N fertilizer 240 kg.ha−1 (B20+N240). TDR is nowadays a well-established dielectric technique to measure volumetric water content; however, its accuracy is influenced by high concentration of salts in soil. In this paper, we evaluated the effect of added N fertilizer on the measuring accuracy of HydroSense II device that is operating under the TDR principle.

scholarly journals An Improved Mechanistic-Empirical Creep Model for Unsaturated Soft and Stabilized Soils

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4146
Author(s):  
Xunli Jiang ◽  
Zhiyi Huang ◽  
Xue Luo
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Unsaturated Soils ◽  
Simulation Analysis ◽  
Soft Soil ◽  
Creep Model ◽  
Subgrade Soils ◽  
Stabilized Soil ◽  
Deformation Behaviors ◽  
Creep Models ◽  
Moisture Conditions

Soft soils are usually treated to mitigate their engineering problems, such as excessive deformation, and stabilization is one of most popular treatments. Although there are many creep models to characterize the deformation behaviors of soil, there still exist demands for a balance between model accuracy and practical application. Therefore, this paper aims at developing a Mechanistic-Empirical creep model (MEC) for unsaturated soft and stabilized soils. The model considers the stress dependence and incorporates moisture sensitivity using matric suction and shear strength parameters. This formulation is intended to predict the soil creep deformation under arbitrary water content and arbitrary stress conditions. The results show that the MEC model is in good agreement with the experimental data with very high R-squared values. In addition, the model is compared with the other classical creep models for unsaturated soils. While the classical creep models require a different set of parameters when the water content is changed, the MEC model only needs one set of parameters for different stress levels and moisture conditions, which provides significant facilitation for implementation. Finally, a finite element simulation analysis of subgrade soil foundation is performed for different loading levels and moisture conditions. The MEC model is utilized to predict the creep behavior of subgrade soils. Under the same load and moisture level, the deformation of soft soil is largest, followed by lime soil and RHA–lime-stabilized soil, respectively.

Using time domain reflectometry in triaxial testing

2000 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1325-1331
Author(s):  
J LH Grozic ◽  
M E Lefebvre ◽  
P K Robertson ◽  
N R Morgenstern
Keyword(s):  
Cyclic Loading ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Time Domain ◽  
Void Ratio ◽  
Time Domain Reflectometry ◽  
Volumetric Water Content ◽  
Degree Of Saturation ◽  
Triaxial Testing ◽  
Empirical Correlations ◽  
Static And Cyclic Loading

Time domain reflectometry (TDR) can be used to determine the volumetric water content of soils. This note describes the utilization of a TDR miniprobe in triaxial testing. The TDR performance was examined with a series of tests that not only proved its reliability but also resulted in two empirical correlations. Using these correlations, the degree of saturation and volumetric water content during triaxial testing could be determined. The TDR was then put to use in a laboratory program designed to investigate the response of loose gassy sand under static and cyclic loading. Because of the TDR measurements it was possible to determine the degree of saturation and void ratio of the gassy specimens. The TDR miniprobe proved to be accurate, simple to use, and inexpensive to build.Key words: time domain reflectometry, TDR, triaxial testing, gassy, unsaturated.

Hyphal colonization of Rhizophagus irregularis increases unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of a loamy sand distant from roots

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bitterlich ◽  
Richard Pauwels
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Volumetric Water Content ◽  
Rhizophagus Irregularis ◽  
Loamy Sand ◽  
Soil Hydraulic Properties ◽  
Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Soil Hydraulic ◽  
Root Exclusion

<p>Hydraulic properties of mycorrhizal soils have rarely been reported and difficulties in directly assigning potential effects to hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) arise from other consequences of AMF being present, i.e. their influence on growth and water consumption rates of their host plants that both also influence soil hydraulic properties.</p><p>We assumed that the typical nylon meshes used for root-exclusion experiments in mycorrhizal research can provide a dynamic hydraulic barrier. It is expected that the uniform pore size of the rigid meshes causes a sudden hydraulic decoupling of the enmeshed inner volume from the surrounding soil as soon as the mesh pores become air-filled. Growing plants below the soil moisture threshold for hydraulic decoupling would minimize plant-size effects on root-exclusion compartments and allow for a more direct assignment of hyphal presence to modulations in soil hydraulic properties.</p><p>We carried out water retention and hydraulic conductivity measurements with two tensiometers introduced in two different heights in a cylindrical compartment (250 cm³) containing a loamy sand, either with or without the introduction of a 20 µm nylon mesh equidistantly between the tensiometers. Introduction of a mesh reduced hydraulic conductivity across the soil volumes by two orders of magnitude from 471 to 6 µm d<sup>-1</sup> at 20% volumetric water content.</p><p>We grew maize plants inoculated or not with Rhizophagus irregularis in the same soil in pots that contained root-exclusion compartments while maintaining 20% volumetric water content. When hyphae were present in the compartments, water potential and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity increased for a given water content compared to compartments free of hyphae. These differences increased with progressive soil drying.</p><p>We conclude that water extractability from soils distant to roots can be facilitated under dry conditions when AMF hyphae are present.</p><p> </p>

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